The Magazine of the Fashion Institute of Technology VOLUME 12 | NUMBER 2 | SPRING 2019 ON THE COVER CONTRIBUTORS This charming map of New York City by Brooklyn artist Ebony The Magazine of the Fashion Bolt ’14 is filled with sleeping Institute of Technology The Magazine of the Fashion Institute of Technology beauties whom she drew while riding the subway. “I used to draw Hue is for alumni and friends of FIT, a college of art and design, business and them with their eyes open,” she technology. It is published three times says, “and they’d be like, ‘Hey, a year by the Division of Communications what are you doing?’ and wake up Diana McClure is a writer, and External Relations, 227 West half the car.” A poster version of photographer, and cultural 27th Street, Room B905, New York, The City of Dreamers is for sale producer based in New York NY 10001-5992, (212) 217-4700. through the New York Transit City. Her art and culture Museum’s store. For more of Bolt’s writing has appeared in a ectionate portraits, turn to Art Basel magazine, Art in “Dream On,” page 18. America, The Brooklyn Rail, Vice President for Communications Cultured, Photograph, and VOLUME | NUMBER | SPRING and External Relations Afropunk.com. Loretta Lawrence Keane Assistant Vice President for Communications Carol Leven ACCEPTANCE Editor LETTERS COME Linda Angrilli TO LIFE Managing Editor This spring, successful Alex Joseph MA ’15 applicants got a digital treat Sta Writer with their acceptance letters: Alan Wechsler is a freelance Jonathan Vatner a postcard embedded with an writer based in Albany, Editorial Assistant augmented-reality video. In New York. He covers a variety Laura Hatmaker it, current students introduce of topics, including education, Photography Coordinator themselves and share their the outdoors, travel, and the Smiljana Peros enthusiasm for FIT. Art Direction and Design environment, for The New Gary Tooth/Empire Design Studio To watch the video, download York Times, the Wall Street the Arilyn app on your phone Hue online: hue.fitnyc.edu Journal, TheAtlantic.com, Email: hue@fitnyc.edu or tablet and use it to scan and others. FIT Newsroom: news.fitnyc.edu this image. Like the FIT Alumni page on Facebook and follow @FITAlumni on Twitter. Use SPOTTED! the hashtag #FITAlumni when posting. VISIT US ONLINE Elke Herold, associate Email the Oce of Alumni Engagement Visit Hue’s revamped website, hue.fitnyc.edu, to read stories before they’re coordinator in the dean’s and Giving at alumnirelations@fitnyc.edu o ce of the School of Art and let us know what you’ve been up to. printed and to see bonus photos and video, including: and Design, found herself a cool video co-created by Hue and Thaddeus Coates ’20 in Philadelphia shortly after aNew York Daily News mini-documentary about subway illustrator reading the Counter Culture Ebony Bolt ’14 story in the winter 2018-19 Printed by Maar Printing Service on issue of Hue, about Brit Rolland Enviro Print. This paper is: a walkthrough of a virtual reality artwork created for patients at Reed ’13 and her handbag Ancient Forest Friendly the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Made with 100 percent post-consumer atelier, Tesoro. Herold waste fiber a video lookbook of couture garments by Grace Chen ’96 (pictured) stopped in and posed with Processed Chlorine Free Reed for this photo. “It’s a Produced using biogas energy beautiful store, and I felt Environmental savings as compared proud to see our former to paper using 100 percent virgin fiber: student become so success- 136 trees preserved ful,” Herold says. “Of course 131,195 gallons of water saved I had to buy something!” 13,422 lbs of waste not generated 44,099 lbs of CO2 not generated 113 MMBTUs of energy not consumed 57 lbs of nitrous oxide gas prevented Please recycle or share this magazine. Features Departments 8 Kam Mak’s Stamp on History 18 Dream On 4 Hue’s News A dozen stunning artworks, 55 cents apiece The prowess and process of an 10 I Contact “extroverted introvert” 11 Exhibitionism 28 Alumni Notes Thirty-three of The Museum at FIT’s most 20 Uncommon Pursuits influential shows revisited Five grads who took the road less traveled 31 What Inspires You? 12 The Virtual Cure 24 No Dragons, Please Pain relief through immersive art Chinese designer Grace Chen, Fashion Design ’96, means business 16 Taking St. Tropez Worldwide Estefania Garcia-Correa ’15 launches Vilebrequin stores across Latin America Above: New Year’s Traditions When Illustration Professor Kam Mak was a child, his mother hung little red lanterns in the windows for Chinese New Year. His painting of those lanterns became the first in a -stamp series for the U.S. Postal Service, themed around the holiday. Take in all of these beautiful creations in “Kam Mak’s Stamp on History,” page . hue’s news The Style Shop and the Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design Department created a pop-up shop made of used shipping pallets. materials. “We’re backing up our business with real analytics and data to make sure we’re taking care of the environment,” he said. In one of two lectures supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Dr. Christina Agapakis, a biologist, writer, and artist, dis- Zach Hilty/BFA cussed how genetical- FIT’s gala was held underneath the blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History. ly modified microbes can help grow crops without fertilizer, DISPATCHES FROM dye garments without toxicity, and produce FIT’S SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS animal proteins from AND DESIGN CONFERENCE yeast. She acknowl- Francisco Costa ’. edged that GMOs, especially when present in food, On April 3 and 4, nearly 1,000 students, faculty, are a contentious topic, but believes that transpar- sta¥, alumni, and friends of the college attended ency in labeling and open conversation could help FIT’s 13th Annual Sustainable Business and Design change minds. Conference, which convened thought leaders across Paul Dillinger, the dynamic vice president and the creative industries to discuss recent and future head of global design innovation for Levi Strauss breakthroughs for preserving our planet. & Co.—one of the biggest names in sustainability This year’s theme was Innovation in Sustain- today—capped o¥ the conference by sharing some ability, and programming focused on cutting-edge of the company’s experiments in reducing the research and technology for reducing our environ- massive environmental impact of denim produc- mental impact and taking steps toward healing the tion. For example, they are creating a soft, cottony earth. For the first time, the conference was held fabric from eco-friendly hemp, sourcing a partially in conjunction with the FIT Foundation’s Annual recycled natural fiber called Refibra, and creating Awards Gala, which took place April 3 at the clothes entirely from one fiber, buttons and all, to American Museum of Natural History and raised make them easily recyclable. Levi’s is also teaming more than $1 million to benefit college initiatives. Levi’s sustainability czar Paul Dillinger with President up with Stacy Flynn, Textile Development and Joyce F. Brown. Again and again, conference presenters stressed Marketing ’98, to make jeans from Evrnu, a new that our chance to mitigate the eects of global produce his new beauty brand, Costa Brazil. Selling fiber created from discarded clothing. “There’s warming and environmental destruction is these ingredients provides income for some of the no one single solution,” Dillinger said. “Right now running out. 200 indigenous tribes in the Amazon, and Conser- there’s just got to be a lot of trials.” Anastasia Khoo, chief marketing ocer of vation International is planting 73 million native Conservation International, said that current trees at the headwaters of the Amazon River to The conference was organized by the president’s estimates give humans 10 to 12 years to reduce speed reforestation. Sustainability Council and chaired by council carbon in the atmosphere before global warming Michael Beutler, director of sustainability members Ann Cantrell, assistant professor of reaches a point of no return. She spoke with operations at the luxury conglomerate Kering, Fashion Business Management; and Melanie Francisco Costa, Fashion Design ’90, former described the company’s pioneering Environmental Copple, director of strategic philanthropy; as creative director of Calvin Klein Collection, about Profit and Loss methodology, which puts an well as council co-chairs Suzanne McGillicuddy, how they work together to sustainably derive economic value on the impact of creating products assistant dean of students; and Karen Pearson, unique ingredients from the Amazon rainforest to from leather, wool, gold, and other natural associate chair of Science and Math. QUICK READ In January, Eric Daniels, chair of Interior Design, Permeable/Resistant, a solo show last fall at the Michelle Handelman, acting chair of Film and Media, presented on design thinking and disruption at Thomas Erben Gallery in Chelsea, featured recent won a 2019 Creative Capital Award for her queer Innova-Con, a conference held by the International work by Fine Arts faculty member Harriet Korman, multichannel video installation with live performance Association of Innovation Professionals and the in which, according to the gallery, she “continues called Delirium, one of 50 projects chosen from 5,200 U.S. Chamber of Commerce. her celebrated engagement with color, geometry, applications. She will receive $50,000 in funding and the picture plane, paint, and her handling of it.” $50,000 more in career development services. Ciniglio Lorenzo 4 Spring 2019 hue’s news Exhibition Dates 02/12/2019–03/28/2019 Fashion Institute of Technology 227 West 27 Street New York City 10001-5992 WE’RE #! A recent ranking from CEOWORLD magazine placed FIT atop a list of colleges worldwide o ering fashion- creativity for civility, diversity and inclusion related programs.